In interviews, I always ask candidates whether they’ve done any commercial cleaning. About one in ten has; the other nine usually say something like, “No, but I keep my house super clean.” I never hold that against anyone, because most people don’t realize there’s a difference. When you start searching, you’ll find plenty of cleaners who say “we do both commercial and residential.”
We don’t. Optimal Prime Cleaning Services specializes in commercial cleaning. It’s what we love. So let’s walk through what actually makes commercial cleaning different.
This is the question I get most, and the answer is bigger than people expect. On the surface, commercial cleaning covers emptying trash and the routine cleaning of floors and surfaces, both carpet and hard floor tile. It includes wiping down walls, both building walls and cubicle partitions, and keeping dust off drop ceilings, HVAC vents, and light fixtures. It covers desks, monitors, and office furniture. Restroom service means a full clean of toilets, urinals, stall partitions, sinks, faucets, and mirrors, plus a restock of paper products. Depending on what the client needs, it can also include window cleaning, commercial kitchens and dining areas, breakrooms, and more.
But a good commercial crew does more than empty trash and vacuum. Many manage supply orders, know cleaning chemicals cold, where to use them and, just as importantly, where not to, and act as a resource on mystery stains in carpet, upholstery, and elsewhere.
A quality commercial cleaner isn’t just there to collect a check. The good ones save you money by negotiating and stocking your supplies and taking that ordering off your plate, and they know stain removal across different surfaces, because the right product for one stain is the wrong one for another. Think of a great commercial cleaner as a partner working behind the scenes: they make your office shine, so when a client walks in, they see a building that’s clearly well cared for.
The year 2020 pushed a lot of companies to rethink their cleaning. As COVID-19 spread, people wanted to know how long a virus could survive on a surface. The evidence on that has always been mixed, but it’s clear enough that regular cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch surfaces is worth doing. Beyond removing visible dirt, it helps cut down the germs on the things everyone puts their hands on.
Here’s something people get backwards: most worry about the restroom, but that’s usually not where office bugs spread. Restrooms get cleaned often, and most people wash their hands on the way out. The spots that get overlooked are the shared, frequently touched ones: light switches, door handles, phones, keyboards, copiers, office chairs. A good commercial cleaner hits those touchpoints too, even when there’s no visible dirt.
Great commercial cleaning comes down to two things: consistency and efficiency. At Optimal Prime Cleaning Services, I train my crews to move through a building efficiently, working top to bottom so we’re not knocking dust down onto surfaces we already cleaned, which lets us cover a lot of ground with tight, repeatable routines. Pair the right process with the right tools, like commercial vacuums with HEPA filters, and a big space stops feeling like a daunting project.
Even so, it all comes back to a trained process. A quality checklist, followed the same way every time by people who are trained and paid to do the job right, is what makes the whole thing work, for me as the owner and for you as the client. Without a process and some checks and balances, you spend more time for worse results. You’d be surprised how many companies say they have a process that their crews don’t actually follow. That costs the contractor more, and they make it back by either raising your price or cutting corners.
I’ve taken over a lot of accounts, from other cleaning companies and from “we clean it ourselves” clients, where the janitor closet is a graveyard of random chemicals: dollar-store finds, unmarked bottles of vinegar, half-empty Pine-Sol, and enough mismatched toilet-bowl cleaners and soap-scum removers to make your eyes water. With the client’s okay, nearly all of it gets tossed or donated. When we take over a closet, apart from restocking paper products and hand soap, our chemical kit fits in a five-gallon bucket.
The truth is you don’t need a lot of products. You need the right ones: a strong disinfectant cleaner, a good dilutable multi-purpose cleaner, plain Dawn dish soap, and a mild scouring cleanser for the occasional tough spot. You can clean a building remarkably well with just a few solid commercial supplies. There are always situations that call for something specific, but good commercial cleaning is about being organized with the right tools for the job.
One more thing every commercial cleaner should do: post SDS (safety data sheets) for the products in the closets they stock. The manufacturers make these available, and you have a right to know what’s being used in your building and how to use it safely. If nothing else, keeping that information accessible is an OSHA requirement.
At the end of the day, a good commercial cleaner walks you through what it takes to keep your building clean and well cared for. It looks simple from the outside, but it’s a lot more than vacuuming and hauling trash. There’s a lot of square footage to cover and a lot that goes into doing it right.
If you’d rather hand the nitty-gritty, the chemicals, the pH levels, the HEPA filters, and the supply ordering, to a team that genuinely enjoys it, request a quote and Optimal Prime Cleaning Services will take care of your Sioux Falls building.
This article is provided by Optimal Prime Cleaning Services for general informational purposes only. It is not legal, compliance, or professional advice for your specific facility. For chemical handling and workplace safety, follow the manufacturer’s label directions and the relevant OSHA and EPA guidance.
